


Unfortunate Circumstances

by Claireton



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Cringey awkward moments, F/M, Inner Dialogue, Mutation, POV Third Person, Profanity, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-19
Updated: 2016-06-03
Packaged: 2018-06-08 12:17:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6854344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Claireton/pseuds/Claireton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the city goes to Hell thanks to some madmen with guns and something more sinister underneath, Emma just wants to get away from it all. Only two men are willing to help her, and one has more going for him than just a good aim.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! More Resident Evil shenanigans! First chapter is lackluster but let's just pretend that's to make the other(s) look better!

Emma ducked behind the table, holding her breath as the figure patrolled past the other side. She locked her gaze on the ground and willed all of her muscles to stay still, listening to the raggedy, nearly struggling breath of the man on the other side. He came a stop before making a slow u-turn and stalking off the way he had came. Emma allowed her lungs air again and looked across the empty market to David and Maria. They were in similar positions, pressed against the stall opposite with their hands squeezing together and fear overtaking their expressions. Thus far, they had managed to avoid being seen, but that did nothing to lessen the anxiety of it all.

It had only taken a few days for the city to collapse into utter chaos. One moment, everything had been normal, with the bustling streets and lively commotion to be seen everywhere. Then all too suddenly, people were dying and others were fleeing, off to the safest evacuation center or wherever they decided they could hide. Emma and her group had intended to leave with the former, but with the small apartment they had been sharing having been right in the path of whoever was attacking the city, they had been forced to remain until they had the chance to leave. Now, they were squatted in one of the city's outside markets, surrounded by the carefully crafted Chinese signs and the aftermath of slaughter. It was supposed to have been an easy, safe route out of the city according to David, but that theory had quickly been proven wrong when the trio found the market to be guarded by the men attacking the city. With no other choice, they had chosen to try sneaking through to safety.  So far, no resistance had met them.

David raised his knees slightly, and Emma watched him peer over his shoulder to the path ahead. The guard had slunk off down a side path to the other of the market's two pathways, opening the one Emma was on for anyone to stroll down. She watched David turn his head to Maria and nod before tugging her along with him. David had become an impromptu leader of the gang, and neither Emma nor Maria had had any desire to question it, not really caring all that much who was in charge as long as they got out of the city. Emma followed the two, keeping half crouched while they moved. She threw a wary glance down the path the guard had taken, her heart twitching with nerves.

_'Just keep moving, Emma. Don't stop.'_

Just a few stalls ahead was where the market ended and the street made an appearance. Thanks to it being blockaded by barricades and abandoned cars, the only path to take was a narrow alleyway that divided two of the city's tall buildings. It might have ended up being harder to hide in such a confined space, but Emma knew she couldn't get herself caught up with such worries. For the moment, all she had to worry about was getting out of that market alive.  So focused was she on that alleyway that she jumped when she heard her name.

"Emma!" David hissed from behind a table, earning a panicked glance from her.

He jerked his head toward another break between stalls, where another armed man was steadily marching out of. Emma snapped down further in panic and threw her head around frantically. By some divine grace she hadn't been seen yet, and the moment her eyes locked on to a metal locker inside one of the stalls she dove for it, stepping in and trodding on some half emptied boxes before pulling the door closed quiet as she was able. There was barely enough space for her to not be pressing against the door. Slits at the top of either door provided her with a segmented view outside, directly across to where David and Maria had crouched. They both watched the locker for a few moments, concern rife on their faces, before David nodded and turned, supposedly to whisper something to Maria.

Emma's heavy breathing was echoed in the small space, bouncing off of the doors and hitting her face again while she watched. It was quiet, save for the steps of the guard, and Emma waited for David to give the all clear, her hands bunched up at her sides. Then, a new body entered her view, and her heart jumped into her mouth. A mask, white with red stripes, covered his face, not unlike the other masks that they all wore. A filthied green vest hung over bare skin flecked with dirt, and topped off a worn looking pair of grey trousers. He held a rifle in both hands, pressed against his chest in a relaxed position while he walked. With the way he was going, there was no way that he wouldn't notice the two, who shrunk back with their eyes widened.

_'He's gonna see them. There's no way. He'll see them.'_

He moved closer still, his body just falling in line with the opposite edge of the table.

_'Do something. They'll die if you don't.'_

His foot planted itself just into the view of David and Maria.

**_'Do something!'_ **

The guard passed the two, continuing on a few steps until he moved out of Emma's sight. She allowed herself a tense breath of little relief as the two rose again and began to scuttle around to the other side of the table. Maria regarded the locker worriedly as they went, peeking up over David's shoulder as they still clutched onto one another.

_'You can catch up with them. Just wait it out and follow later.'_

They went out of sight and Emma swallowed thickly, her fingertips just licking the cold metal of the locker door.

_'Give it ten seconds.'_

Her fingers left the door, intertwining at her chest instead.

_'Ten.'_

The outside world was silent, even absent of the marching footsteps.

_'Nine.'_

The wrapper of some foreign junk food fluttered into view, swirling and flapping in a gentle breeze.

_'Eight.'_

Emma took a breath, persuading her heart to slow down.

_'Seven.'_

She let her eyes move away from the slits and into the safety of the locker. On one of the side walls, badly lit through the thin openings in the doors, was a cracked body length mirror she hadn't noticed before. Her eyes connected with the other woman, finding it difficult to accept that it was herself staring back. Where Emma was quite good with her hygiene, this woman's smudged face was alien, with foggy, smudged eyeliner from too much exhausted eye rubbing underlining her bluish green irises and staining a pale complexion. Emma liked to wear her dirty blonde hair in tousled curls around her chin, but her companion seemed to prefer wild, unruly locks that barely followed corresponding directions and matted to her skin in random places. The only things they seemed to have in common were fashion tastes, sharing a black blouse, jeans and ankle boots. Thank God they had both gone for Cuban heels instead of stilettos. Emma traded stares with the reflection before dragging her eyes back to the outside of the locker.

_'Six.'_

Gunfire pierced the air, followed by a scream. Maria sprinted back into view, alone, her chestnut curls whipping forward when she came to a stop and swung her head around. The grief and panic that filled her eyes to the brim was almost tangible, making tears spill over and coat her cheeks even as she searched for refuge. She looked forward again and her eyes widened with recognition, hands shooting up in surrender. She yelled something too, but the words were drowned out by the gunfire that had her body riddled with bullets, jerking this way and that before she fell to her knees. Emma watched the life seep from her eyes, dulling and stilling, colourless.

Her face collided with the ground in a pathetic sounding smack. A cold dread made itself welcome in Emma's being.

_'They're dead. David and Maria are dead.'_

A bile response that she barely caught burned her throat.

_'You didn't even try to help them.'_

The first guard sauntered into view, rifle still trained on Maria's lifeless body. As if the holes in her back leaking blood weren't confirmation enough, he caught a foot under her shoulder and turned her over before lowering his rifle again.

_'You're next.'_

The guard began to move in the direction Maria had come, only to be stopped by a yell from his comrade. More gunfire filled the air and Emma flinched, holding her breath as she watched him charge back to where she and the others had come from. Now, there was fire from more than a single rifle, each one filling the market with its own succession of piercing sounds as an unknown battle raged on.

_'Move. Get out of here when no one's looking.'_

Her fingers met the locker door again, barely daring to ease it forward. It made no protest and glided open obediently, inviting cautious steps back onto the concrete ground. A few more baby steps out, and Emma threw a glance back to her hiding spot.

_'Don't. Go while you have the chance and you can make it.'_

A quiet whimper escaped Emma's lips and she squeezed herself against a wall of the stall, one that sheltered her from the direction that the gunfire reigned from. Clammy hands slid on the wall's surface while she leaned over to find the two guards from before and two more all firing in the same direction. Whatever they were firing at was hidden from Emma's sight, but it certainly wasn't going down without a fight. She chewed her lip and watched the guards, declaring them much too focused on their target to notice her, and following a muffled sigh she crept into the open air. With eyes chained to the firefight, she flinched when her foot smacked off something, looking down to see Maria's lifeless body with eyes trained to the skies.

"Oh, Maria.." she whispered, a hand rising to her mouth while her vision began to gloss over with tears.

She sank to her haunches, still aware of the battle raging but too consumed to refrain from giving herself a moment. Maria's eyes were still wide with panic, trapped in the moment when her assailant raised his gun at her. One gentle touch later, the lids closed over, placing the girl in as peaceful a slumber as could be gotten in such a place.

_'There's no time for any more. You have to move.'_

"I'm sorry."

Emma rose again, giving her friend one last look over, and stopping with a frown when something seemed off. It suddenly felt all too normal, too peaceful, too quiet. She lifted her head in search of the sounds of battle. Instead, she found a new figure that must have materialized from nowhere to stand where he did.

He couldn't have been much older than Emma herself. Young, healthy skin that was marred with the random splurges of dirt on his face was also glistening with a thin surface of sweat.  Chestnut brown hair was cut short at the sides and pushed up at the front, rising off of his forehead in stiff peaks. He was clad from the neck down with militaristic gear, leaving his neck and head the only parts of his body on display. With a thick looking, khaki coloured uniform came a vest of armor that reached down to his hips. On his belt was a collection of pouches along with one or two on each leg that matched in colour his muddy laced boots.

The most interesting feature to Emma however, were his tepid green irises and focused pupils, accompanied by a scrunch of eyebrows while they helped him to train a rifle on her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray this took forever but hooray!

"Freeze!" he commanded, but Emma's body had already decided for her that sprinting for that alleyway was the best course of action.  
  
He yelled something again, but Emma's focus was too occupied and her breath too frantic to make any heed of it. On her path lay Daniel's body, collapsed onto its side while the open eyes glared at Emma passing. The sizable hole in the side of his head was some sick kind of comfort that it had at least been quick, and harshly reminded Emma that her pursuer carried a weapon of his own.  
  
_'Just keep going. He might not shoot and you could get out of this alive.'_  
  
She dared throw a look over her shoulder, absorbing the sight of the armoured man tracing her footsteps, his rifle swinging like a pendulum in his hands as he went. The determined anger on his face gave Emma the feeling that being caught would very much not be in her favour. When her feet tangled in each other and she barely managed to avoid hitting the ground, she turned her gaze forward again to the market's approaching end. Her lungs already tingled their dissent, displeased with her sudden transition from creeping to sprinting, but adrenaline fought back and insisted her persistence.  
  
_'He can't shoot as long as he's running. Do not stop. Just a few more seconds.'_  
  
The final stall of the market was some type of mini restaurant, with no more than two tables available, and even at that the things were cast to their sides, one shoved up against the stall's only full wall, a silver square of metal. It was from behind this wall that another figure appeared, charging into Emma's path at the last moment. With no time to rectify herself, Emma barreled right into them, bouncing off and hitting the ground as though she had hit a brick wall instead of a person. Her lower body whined with the damage, and after a very brief period of self pity she regarded her newest company.  
  
He was tall. Very much so, and with a physique to suit it. He almost seemed like an older version of the first one she had seen, but the complexion was older, more matured, with defining stubble contrasting with the former's empty skin. Darker hair was styled in a similar fashion, but less controlled in its form, with the occasional rogue spike daring to break from the crowd and choose a new direction. His face was dirtied too, with some unknown substances mingling with sweat and seeping into the frown creases between his eyebrows.  His eyes weren't so different either, sharing his companion's emotion in a shade of blue. In truth, their uniforms were the only thing to differentiate the two at a quick glance. Where this new man appeared to be incapable of finding a long sleeved uniform with the possibility of containing his arms, his companion donned an elbow length, sandy body warmer under his armour. Instead, this one had opted for a blue, somewhat shiny material that cut off halfway down his biceps, stretched tight by the disciplined muscle. He also switched up the tan body armour for a deeper green kind, with an even larger selection of pouches fixed on uniformly. Grey pants and boots matched the colour scheme of the gloves he wore.  
  
The barrel of his own rifle trailed Emma as she scrambled to her feet, silently threatening her with every passing moment. Without much place else to look she traded gazes with him, finding the nature of his own difficult to discern. He was scowling, very much focused on her, though she couldn't say that it was exactly angry. It was more as though he were taking her in, sizing her up and making a decision in his mind.  
  
_'He hasn't shot yet. Maybe you can wait until he's not looking and go back the way you came.'_  
  
The heavy footsteps of her original pursuer clattered to a stop behind Emma, accompanied by the idle clicks of a firearm being swung up into aim.  
  
_'Fuck.'_  
  
She turned, raising her hands to her shoulders and allowing both men to enter her peripheral vision. She could feel that her body wanted to cry out of fear, but shock and confusion at not being dead yet left her stone faced as she took a step back.  
  
"Don't move!" the younger one barked, making Emma jump at the sudden order and come to a halt. The fact that it was in English alone allowed a quiver of hope in her. She hadn't heard a single one of the masked ones speak a word of it.  
  
There was a silence between the three of them as Emma worked to stop herself completely losing the plot, blankly staring at the ground in front of her.

"Who are you?" the larger one asked, speaking in a voice that was slow but still commanded respect and attention.

_'Just tell them you're getting out of the city. They don't look anything like the masked ones. They might just let you go.'_

"Look, I-I just want-" she tried.

"Who are you?" he cut her off to repeat himself, more forcefully this time.

"Emma." she blurted in response.

"My name's Emma."

The two men were quiet then but did not ease their stances, and she decided to retry explaining herself.

"Look, I just want to get out of the city."

"I'm not- I don't even have a fucking weapon." she stated, rotating her body around much as she could without moving her feet but still keeping her gaze on the ground.

She dared allow her eyes to rise up and found the two of them exchanging tense glances.

"Captain?" the younger one spoke up, uncertainty clinging to the edge of his voice.

Now she locked gazes with this Captain, making an effort to discern his thoughts through eyes alone. But they told her nothing, save for the fact that he was very much focused on her. It felt like nearly a half hour before he finally spoke up again.

"Piers, ask HQ if there's any ongoing extractions in the area."

Emma's heart made an attempt to leap out of her chest while Piers nodded and raised a hand to his left ear, presumably for an earpiece of sorts

"Alpha to base, requesting extraction for a civilian."

His expression was solemn as he listened to his earpiece, briefly contorting with a frown at the answer. His fingers lowered from the device to his rifle again as he looked over to his Captain, who gave a single, resolute nod.

"Alright, looks like we're gonna have to take a detour." he stated, relaxing his stance before looking back to Emma.

"There's an extraction team along the river just a little ways from here. We'll get you there as long as you co operate."

Emma gasped with relief, feeling hope flower up inside her.

"Oh- thank you! Thank you." she gushed, resisting her body's instinctive choice to go for a hug.

"But aren't there more of those, uh.. masked guys around?" she wondered, throwing a wary glance around.

"J'avo." Piers corrected.

"Don't worry, Ma'am." he continued, earning a perk of eyebrows from Emma.

"You're in good hands with the BSAA."

The way he looked at her had Emma between two minds. On one hand, it was reassuring to see the determination in his eyes while he said what he had, but those same eyes had been filled with angered focus such a short time ago that she wasn't sure what to make of it. Rather than answer him verbally she simply gave a nod while the Captain regarded the alleyway behind him.

"Alright, let's move out." he ordered.

With a single glance back to the other two he began moving, traveling at a steady pace with his gun hugged close to his abdomen. Emma followed behind,  throwing one last glance back at the bodies of her friends. Piers' eyes jumped to hers in the meantime, but found no return and eventually glided back to the path ahead.

The area was quiet as Emma followed, covered on front and back by each man. The final stall slid by and abandoned her to a wide, empty street that provided her footsteps with a series of underfoot crinkling sounds by way of random pieces of rubbish. Her eyes climbed the side of the building that constituted the left wall of the alley; Quite a tall thing with too many windows to count, some broken and all of them filthy. She absently wondered if it had been an apartment block like her own before all of the chaos.

The Captain paused once they reached the beginning of the alleyway, seeming to survey it. Inside was a rather tall stack of boxes pushed against the rightmost wall, with one lonely crate to the left. Chunks of rubble brought the space to an end just a little ways on and prevented direct passing through. To Emma it seemed perfectly ordinary, though she assumed her opinion wasn't worth voicing and tried to shift out of the way when the Captain's head turned back to find Piers. He raised his index and middle fingers, flicking them forward before raising his rifle up to his shoulder and creeping forward.

_'That means go, right?'_

Emma made it one step forward before Piers' firm hand planted on her shoulder and kept her still while he mimicked the Captain's movements. After passing her it reattached to his own weapon and helped to prepare it for whatever his superior was expecting to happen. Her own hands scrunched at her sides with apprehension, half expecting the two to be jumped and gored at any moment. However, luck appeared to be on their side and the two reached the end of the alley before relaxing their stances. The Captain turned to a rusted red door for the left building while Piers beckoned Emma with a swing of his head. She scampered up behind the two, still poised with their guns held high toward the door. The Captain's head turned toward her just slightly, only offering a profile view of his face.

"If there are hostiles inside, stay hidden until we give the all clear, alright?"

Emma nodded and shrank back a little further behind Piers while the Captain eased the door open. When the two stepped in, rifles sweeping about, she ducked against a cabinet of sorts just in front of the door and dared peek around to watch.

She couldn't quite tell what exactly the room was supposed to be. The logo printed boxes strewn about made it seem like a warehouse of sorts, maybe. But then, the random cupboards and island-like furnishings around made it seem like another mini market meant for the inside. Small, grimy tiles on the floor looked like those one might find in a bathroom, or something in that variety. Whatever its purpose, it didn't matter all that much now; Nobody was around to enjoy whatever it once held, or even to care. Too busy trying to get out of the city alive. Probably failing.

She watched Piers move along the side of the room she had planted herself in, observing the practiced way he searched each corner and experiencing mixed feelings about it. There he was, doing such a dangerous job that could end his life at any moment, but he looked so confident, so sure of himself and capable. Everything that she wasn't.

_'Apples and Oranges. You haven't been trained to deal with this kind of situation.'_

Piers' head turned in the direction of his Captain, and after a resolute nod he looked back to Emma and jerked his head forward. She stood, still throwing a wary glance of her own around before shuffling forward. The Captain was at the other side of the room, rifle still poised at the ready while he marched toward a single flight of stairs built into the wall. Emma caught a snippet of the look in his eyes while he went. Somehow looked even more focused than his companion. Maybe it was the creases around them that were definitely brought on by a habit of scowling.

"You're doing good." Piers offered suddenly, making her throw her eyebrows up.

"Stay out of sight and I promise we'll get you outta here safely, alright?"

She nodded, corners of her mouth rising in a grateful smile. Whether a trick of the light or otherwise, she could have sworn his did the same while he turned to face forward again and followed his superior's steps. The three of them continued that way, creeping up the uneven chunks of concrete with as little noise as they could manage. Once the Captain hit the top, he came to a pause and swept his sights over much as he could from his position. Against her better judgement, Emma peeked over the little wall separating the stairs and the next floor, seeing a room hardly any different to the one below. Then there was movement to her right and the two men were moving forward to do another inspection of the room. She regarded the stairs leading back down with some apprehension, and rather than leave herself vulnerable for any surprise attacks she took the liberty to scuttle quietly into the room. When she approached a stall in the middle, a square thing with only one lopped off section as an entrance, Piers' eyes darted to her before looking forward again.

_'Good job not moving until told to, dumbass.'_

She watched the Captain, at the other side of the room, relax somewhat, turning to the two of them. His eyes widened briefly before dust exploded out from the wall beside him and all three of them ducked down from the roars of gunfire occupying the room.

Emma hadn't even caught up to speed before there was a hand on her shoulder and she was being squashed down against one edge of the stall, her shoulder whacking into it. Her heart pounded against her chest, instantly beating tenfold as the situation came to clarity in her mind. She recognized Piers on a knee beside her, hand glued to her shoulder while he hunched over to ensure his head wasn't on display. The moment there was a break in the fire he stood and re-positioned his weapon for some shots of his own. Emma kept watching, ears ringing with the echoing fire, waiting for the moment when the back of his head would erupt and the air behind him would filled with blood and she would be next.

_'Another David and Maria.'_

But that didn't happen. He came back down and a clatter was to be heard between them while his discarded magazine hit the tiled floor and he shoved in a new one. He peeked over the edge again and evidently found no more resistance before he swung the rifle around and checked in his Captain's direction.  Emma hadn't even time to risk standing before a series of smashes preceded the sprinkling of glass and once again the walls threw back the sounds of a firefight.

"Captain!" Piers' voice pierced the ruckus while he stepped out of the stall and instead took post against a section of the wall that jutted out from the rest.

He stepped out and to the side occasionally, offering quick bursts of supporting fire.  Emma looked on, feeling rather helpless as she crouched there and waited. She only looked away from him once a foot peeked out over the side of the stall's edge.

Her eyes widened.

One of the J'avo was creeping up behind Piers, a machete caked in blood raised aloft. Emma figured there was roughly four seconds before his life would be at an end. Time enough for her to actually do something.

Yell at him?

_'Could distract him. Leave him open to a machete to the neck and a bullet to the head.'  
_

Hide and hope for the best?

_'Let the guy going out of his way to save your life die?'_

Throw something.

_'Nothing to throw. You might hit Piers too.'_

Only one option left.

_'Be brave.'_

Her hands clenched and she extended her knees ever so slightly.

_'No more Davids. No More Marias.'_

She saw that machete rise higher, catching a new glint in its position. Her legs extended and she was ploughing toward the unexpecting J'avo, right arm curled up as she attempted some form of a shoulder tackle on him. It connected messily but connected nonetheless, sharing the burden between his own arm and a few higher up ribs while Emma involuntarily loosed a grunt at the impact. It had a pleasing result given the size difference, with the J'avo stumbling off balance and hitting the ground. Less fortunately, Emma's plan to stop there was foiled when she stumbled against his disoriented body and her body met the floor too. Her upper body cracked against the tiles and she yelped in pain, coming to a stop on her side facing away from the commotion.

_'Don't stop. You're not done yet.'_

In spite of the protesting pains, she pressed her hands down and lifted herself enough to look around to the J'avo, already scrambling back to his feet. His head turned to her and Emma froze up, caught off guard to see what lay beneath the knocked of mask. His face was grotesque, entirely too red and oozing with blood and pus from random areas. A mouth too large on one side was curled into a vicious snarl, and no matter which eye she looked to, the two normal ones or the four smaller ones clustered around his temple, each was focused directly on her. She was too ensnared to even think of going for the discarded machete, the handle of which he was already closing his fingers around.  He got the thing around half a ruler's length from the floor before a cloud of red exploded from the newfound hole on the side of his head and he hit the ground once more, unmoving.

Emma let her eyes trail the direction the bullet came from to find Piers, rifle still aimed at where he had shot but pupils attached to her. She couldn't identify the emotion in his eyes and switched to getting herself from the floor, hoping there was no serious damage when her chest still throbbed with pain.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She flinched at the sudden yell, twisting her head around to see the Captain stomping toward her, his expression very much unhappy.

"I-" she tried.

"Your orders are to remain hidden until told otherwise, _not_ to go attacking hostiles!"

She stopped, taken aback and entirely unsure how to respond. Her insides twitched with nerves while she worked to avoid eye contact with the enraged beast of a man in front of her. Instead she noticed for the first time a little strip of material on his body armour, just over where a heart should be, reading 'C. Redfield'. His name, most likely, but what did the C stand for? Given his current demeanor, Emma could think of one fitting word.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"Captain." Piers' infinitely calmer voice commanded both of their attention.

"It's my fault. I got sloppy, let my guard down."

The coil around Emma's heart loosened and a small breath of relief escaped her lips.

"If she hadn't been there I wouldn't be alive right now."

The Captain's eyes searched Piers' before leaping back to Emma. His expression did not falter, looking as though he was trying to judge someone as guilty or not rather than looking at someone who had just saved his companion's life. It lasted just long enough to make Emma uncomfortable again before he huffed a quiet grunt and turned around.

"Move out."

She watched him move toward a metal door at the opposite end of the room, dumbfounded at the reaction. Not even an encouraging nod of the head, much less a verbal apology for flipping the handle when he realized he had been mistaken.

_'Who cares? It felt good helping him. You don't need some dickhead's approval.'_

Piers' head twitched between the two, observing the enigma at the door briefly before looking to Emma and beckoning her with a half shrug of his shoulder. Rather than march ahead however, he fell into step beside her and had the two of them slowing down to a steady pace while they approached.

"Listen, don't take it personal. Chris's not a bad guy, he's just been through a lot."

Emma tried her best not to roll her eyes at him. She had been through a lot in the past few days too, and _she_ wasn't about to start shouting at people trying to help. Still, she supposed if Piers was going to defend him, there was probably some truth in there somewhere.  For now, this Chris was going to get the benefit of the doubt. They pulled up behind him and Piers stepped in front of her again, trained on the door. Then the outside air and another building greeted her through the doorway and their combined footsteps turned into heavy clanks as they stepped onto a fire escape. It didn't comfort Emma that the slow, noisy downward journey was not sheltered by anything but a railing that looked as though it would break off with too hard of a sneeze on it.  In honesty she would rather have avoided it altogether, but a quick glance showed its purpose as having guided the trio around the debris blocking the alleyway and supposedly closer to the refuge of this boat she had been told about.

Chris came to a folded up ladder at the end of the escape, getting on one knee and giving the thing a hearty rattle without any result. He grunted under his breath and stood again, aiming a vicious smack of his right boot's sole at the thing that made the entire fire escape vibrate under their feet. Piers had joined Emma a safe distance away from the agitated action, and when the ladder didn't budge again she just barely caught his right eye flicker to her. In spite of the situation, she struggled to retain a tight smile at watching such a large man battle against a flimsy little ladder and even let the small of her back relax into the railing while she waited. One more vibrating kick and a rather loud crack was to be heard when the ladder finally detached from its connection to the escape.

Along with the railing Emma had leaned herself against.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked that! I had planned to end it in two chapters but I do love me those kind of endings so I thought 'ah why not, make it three!'
> 
> Until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter where the 'Cringey awkward moments' tag comes into effect.... enjoy.

A trust fall. Not really any other way Emma could describe it. Like she had been practicing a trust fall with someone but they had decided at the last second not to catch her as a cruel joke. She was too surprised to even manage more than a sharp yelp while her body tipped backward and everything else seemed to rotate by itself. Her hands were in front of her, desperately clutching at nothing. Then Piers was suddenly looking at her and reaching out, his lips forming her name, but the space behind had already claimed her for itself and snatched her out of reach. The part of the fire escape meant for one's feet instead saw Emma's entire body rush past, as well as feeling Pier's rifle clatter against it while he dropped to one knee and tried further to catch her.

Air rushed through her ears while she suddenly forgot how high up they had even been when she went over. The building she had just left towering up to her right didn't do any favours for the fact, continuing to sprout up until the sky took its place. She hadn't noticed all the smoke billowing through the air before. Where from? Maybe her old home? Or were they just clouds?

The thoughts were brought to a sudden stop by her body crashing into ground. Soft ground. Ground that cracked and popped under her weight and emitted a foul smell as some type of defense mechanism. Her wide eyes still trained on the sky above while she processed her survival in her mind. No outstanding pains. Not yet. Just the occasional point digging into the backmost parts of her body but not enough to even pierce her clothes. Her eyes flickered to Piers, just as wide eyed as she was. The incredible worry on his face made a small part of her want to jump back up and hug him to say she was alright, but instead settled for turning her head to find the shiny blackness of a rubbish bag. Many rubbish bags, in fact. Surrounding her on all sides.

_'No fucking way.'_

At last her limbs came back to life, trembling with adrenaline as she fought against the ever shifting rubbish to get to her feet. One foot slip and she fell straight to her buttocks. Another and she managed to maneuver herself to at least halfway stand. The third time her foot slipped she landed on her hands and knees still amidst the pile, and paused for a breather. She stared at the slick plastic, her mind running back through the brief events, and felt something work its way up her throat. A high pitched cough. Then another, and another, and they continued until she realized it was laughter. She didn't even know why, but there she was, laughing down at a pile of trash beneath her. Maybe it some kind of defence against the panic. Or maybe she just understood how ridiculously lucky she had just been. Maybe she was just going crazy. All seemed as likely.

"Piers!" Chris' deep voice called from the escape.

"On it!" came the reply, and a moment later Emma heard the varying clicks and thumps of an armor clad young man landing nearby.

Maybe it hadn't even been that high at all.

"Hey." Piers' hand entered her peripheral vision and she didn't need to be asked.

 He supported her difficult arising with a firm grip, though the bags still morphed and smushed under her feet as she stood, and just when she was one foot from salvation one of them decided to burst and send her toppling face first into Piers' chest with a shriek.

She wished he had laughed, even a brusque little chuckle to lift the embarrassment, but the only speech was her own mumbled apologies as she pried herself from him. Not even enough space to take a step back. The gentle smile that met her when she looked up had her close her mouth, and then, that moment of all times, was when her brain suddenly decided that Piers was very interesting to look at. The skin on his face still shone with sweat and was still marred by patches of dirt, but they didn't detract from the more appealing features. Like his jawline. Or the well defined cheekbones. Or the good looking pair of lips. Or the well shaped eyebrows. Or-

Emma spun her head to the corner of the next building over that would put them back on track through the alleyway.

_'Focus, Emma. Now is literally the worst possible time for this shit.'_

"Piers!" Chris' voice sounded again.

Emma kept her gaze still while Piers looked up to his Captain. Then his eyes moved back to her, and down to the minuscule space between them. He nearly jumped backward before re positioning his rifle to both hands, and one quiet clear of the throat later he was looking back up to Chris.

"I'm coming down!" he announced.

His heavy footsteps rang out from above, and Emma probably would have watched if she hadn't been enthralled in watching a door she hadn't noticed behind Piers burst open.

The J'avo inside carried a rather long pole on his shoulder, handle and all with a little trigger that his finger rested readily upon. A brief moment was spent considering why a pole would have such a handle, but then Emma noticed some of the finer details, like how the further end of it splayed out like a trombone and the closer one didn't quite look like it was part of the same weapon. Rather than the blacks and browns that coated the rest of it, this part was a dark green and had a middle that spread outward not unlike an inside out hourglass. Emma felt Piers tense up beside her while the J'avo swung the thing in a half circle to direct the green part right in their direction. She should have tensed up too, she knew, but her brain was a mess with trying to figure out if she was seriously looking at what she felt she was.

"Is that a-" she didn't manage _'rocket launcher'_ before the J'avo's arm burst into a cloud of red mist and a guttural cry accompanied the weapon crashing to the ground.

"Reload!" Chris cried from above.

Piers tensed up in front of her, already trying to train his rifle while he swung around and the J'avo howled in clear agony, clutching the stump where his arm had once been. Blood continued to spurt from it, and a new sound that Emma couldn't pinpoint filled the air. It was sickeningly similar to bones breaking, and had her freeze on the spot while the J'avo writhed. Piers locked his aim and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

He cursed and turned the rifle on its side, one hand attacking the thing and trying to fix whatever the hell had gone wrong with it, but Emma's eyes couldn't take themselves away from the J'avo.

The stump where his arm had once been choked up a generous spurt of blood that coated the ground. Something sprouted out too, like a blood drenched snake that was aggressively trying to escape his body. A twin joined it, and another, until the space beside the J'avo was alive with flailing snakes that flicked bodily fluids all around. Even as she watched and Piers scrambled with his rifle, the things suddenly coiled together, wrapping round and around like licorice until they were no longer individual beings but one mass of flesh. The J'avo's roars died down and with alarming quickness seemed to forget his own suffering while he focused on Emma and Piers once more.

_'What the fuck is going on?!'_

Chris called after his partner, but Piers' rifle refused to be fixed in time, and was instead abandoned to to the ground while Piers turned to Emma. Before he could act further the J'avo's appendage swung toward him, and with a roar of pain Piers was sent barrelling into Emma, taking the both of them back onto the bags. The air escaped  her body with Piers' sudden weight bearing unto her, with only her head being free to look over his shoulder. He didn't move much at all, presumably dazed after the sudden strike, only groaning while the J'avo raised its new weapon high into the air and loosed a battle cry. Emma froze up, having no idea what to do. Even if she could instantly throw Piers off of herself, she wasn't going to have much luck against a giant mutated arm.

Emma yelped when the thing began a quick descent, heading straight for the two. She clamped her eyes shut and turned her head to the side, but rather than the sound of her own demise, she was introduced to more agonized screaming from just ahead. When she dared open her eyes once more the J'avo was half crouched, good arm clamping its blood spurting thigh and mutated limb writhing by its side.

_'Now. Do something now. Go!'_

She pressed her hands against Piers, grunting with effort and managing to lift him a few centimetres before a new figure entered the scene. Chris seemed to appear out of nowhere and with an audible grunt had his fist connect with the J'avo's chin. Mutated arm and all quite literally flew off the ground at the force before the J'avo landed some feet away. and didn't move again. By then Piers seemed to have come back to life, and craned his neck to look over at the defeated enemy.  Much too quickly did Emma's brain dismiss the recently defeated threat and instead focus on her current position, and so she feigned interest in something off to the side.

_'Don't look at him. Don't look and it won't be as awkward. Just wait until he-'_

Piers' voice rang in her ear, reduced to muffling by her own loud thoughts.

_'Of course.'_

"What?" her heart stabbed itself when they made eye contact.

"Are you alright?" a very reasonable concern, but it didn't stop the live wires under Emma's skin.

"O-oh yeah, I'm totally good." her shoulders seemed to shrug of their own accord with what little space they had in an attempt at nonchalance.

"I- I do this all the time."

_'Wow. Really Emma? Really?'_

Piers' face contorted into a confused smile, and to Emma's eternal gratitude his response was cut off by his Captain.

"Piers, get a move on."

"Roger." Piers' response was so instant it was almost robotic.

His hands planted themselves on either side of Emma's head, and she prayed her cheeks weren't as pink as they felt while he pushed himself up.

Emma's hips were lifted by a sudden force.

"What the-" Piers' spiked hair came close to brushing her face when he looked down toward his waist, where something on his uniform had apparently gotten snagged in her jeans.

Emma's brain went into overdrive.

He tried again to lift himself, only to carry her upward again and make her cheeks hot enough to fry an egg.

"Uh, let me-" Piers stopped and propped himself up on one arm while the other dove downward. Emma's hips twitched without permission and she saw Piers freeze for a second while she bit down on her tongue.

_'Lightning. Please strike me with lightning. Just end it now.'_

"Piers." Chris' impatient voice made a show of his ignorance to the situation.

"Coming, Captain." the fact that Piers' voice was only just above a mumble didn't help the matter.

Emma's body dropped fully back onto the bags with a sad thump and Piers quickly jumped back to his feet. While he stepped away and scooped up his weapon she scrambled to her feet and threatened her heart to calm down or there would be consequences. A series of clicks and one fresh magazine later Piers appeared to have corrected his gun and offered a nod of readiness to Chris.

"Alright, move out." at the Captain's order, Emma sunk behind the two and let them lead the way around the corner of the next building, back on the track of the alleyway.

A river running through the city greeted them from a few buildings down, lit in an eerie glow by lampposts along the edge.

"Oh thank God, is that it?" Emma flung the question to the open air where it remained unanswered.

_'I don't see any boat.'_

The trio approached the open space that followed the last of the buildings. Presumably, it had been some kind of docking area before, with boxes of both metal and wood lying about the place, as well as a collection of ropes close by the edge. Some ways down the path of the river was what appeared as an escape from the city, though the total lack of any transport made the whole thing less reassuring.

"Extraction should be here in two minutes." Piers informed her.

She offered a smile far too wide that was returned with a tight smirk. In spite of her giddy heart some thoughts of clarity still drifted through.

_'This is it. I'm done. I'm finally going home. I'm finally fucking free of this mess.'_

"Hey." Chris interrupted her train of thought and she turned to see him staring right at her.

There was a pause where he simply watched her, rifle resting against his abdomen with his shoulders back in a rigid stance. There was something in his eyes, something fighting desperately to break through the professional, hardened glare. Some little, naive hope in Emma expected an apology. Maybe a ' _G_ _ood job'_ or if things were really going to get crazy a ' _Thank you for saving my partner's life'_. Whatever it was, she could see that it had just begun to win when his eyes managed to soften for only a split second, but he sealed it away again by turning his head off to the side and hiking up his weapon slightly.

"Forget it."

The sound of a nearing engine preceded that of splashing water and the trio watched as a darkly painted rescue boat sped toward where they had posted themselves. It wasn't quite what Emma had expected, only really being the sort of thing a coast guard would use, though she certainly wasn't about to complain. She read the letters _BSAA_ on its side while it slowed to a halt in front of them and another armour clad man beckoned urgently.

Another smile split her lips and two step later a hand grabbed her forearm.

"Wait." Piers' voice was soft yet at the same time almost begging.

Her heart fluttered and her forearm was instantly ablaze when their eyes connected.

"I never- I didn't thank you properly for saving me back there."

Though she searched deep and hard Emma could find no response in herself, and could only watch his wonderful eyes mingle with hers. She wondered if the exponentially increasing tension was entirely on her end or he felt it too, or if seconds turned into minutes and hours for him the way they did her.

"Come on!" the soldier in the boat didn't sound like he was going to be waiting much longer.

Piers glanced at him and Emma felt his grip loosen before she forced her legs to carry her on board. The boat started up again and she was being ushered into the little room of the boat, "For her safety.". Still, the small windows on either side let her continue, watching as the ever shrinking figure turned to his Captain and she was carried closer and closer to safety.

_'Please survive this. Just so we can meet just one more time.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, after far too long this little three chapter thing is finally done! Ending feels quite meh but at this point I'm just kind of glad that I just have it over and done with.
> 
> Until next time!


End file.
